After The Ice Melts
by PiiXXiiEE
Summary: Five years have passed since Pitch's defeat and things are peaceful. After having been away for a while, Jack pays a surprise visit to Jamie, and finds himself befriending a teenage girl of 17 who only recently moved back into Burgess with an unusually kind heart. But what does the future have in store for them? And what sad secret is she hiding? How will Jack take it?


****_DISCLAIMER** I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING TO DO WITH RISE OF THE GUARDIANS _**

****_AUTHORS NOTE**  
_**_I know I really shouldn't be starting a new fanfic project but I couldn't help myself! X'D I just loved Rise of the GUardians so much! And this sorta built in my head ^^' Anyways heres the first chapter! ^^ enjoy AND PLEASE REVIEW! it is my fuel! And I did ask nicely :P XD haha Oh and dnt forget to check out my other work if u like this ^^ cya round_

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Having brought winter all over the world, Jack knew that his home town of Burgess was small in comparison to great cities like New York, but Burgess didn't need to be big and busy and fancy. For Jack Frost, it was home spring, summer, autumn or winter. All year round. However, he had grown especially fond is this place ever since Pitch's fall. Not only was this his home, but it was the place were something truly magnificent happened. It was where he was first believed in and seen after three hundred years of people never hearing his voice, never seeing or looking at him, only right through him. The only other time Jack had been that happy, were the first few minutes he awakened as 'Jack Frost' and wove his first winter magic. Those three hundred years after though had been a hole of indescribable loneliness in Jack's life. But those days were now over, as not just Jamie, but now more and more children started to believe in him. But little Jamie was the one who started it all.  
Of course, to say it was all Jamie was a bit unfair. If it wasn't for the other Guardians and giving him a chance to prove himself, he never would have been believed in. And whats more, they taught him what it really meant to be a guardian. They may have doubted him at one point after Pitch succeeded in ruining Easter, but in the end, it all worked out.  
And now, five years after Pitch's defeat, Jack felt like he could barley keep himself away from Burgess, and in particular, Jamie. He found he had become increasingly fond of the young boy, although at 13, not so young anymore, and so he tended to draw out his stays in Burgess when winter arrived, and so winter tended to last just that tiny bit longer there.

It was now the middle of winter, and Jack had been having a great time turning his home town into a winter wonderland. But the sun had set a few hours ago and before Jack called it a day, he decided he would pay someone a visit. It had been at least a month after all. It took mere moments as he flew across town to a more suburban part where Jamie lived. He hovered outside Jamie's window and smiled, as he peered in, and saw the young teen lying on his bed with his headphones in his ears, a pencil in one hand and an art pad in the other. Jack had learnt from experience that when Jamie had his headphones in, tapping on the window wouldn't be nearly enough to get his attention. Jack frosted a small part on the window, drew a circle with his finger and flicked it. A tiny snow ball shot out from the window and hit Jamie square in the face and Jack couldn't help but burst into laughter. Jamie looked at the window for a moment, cross, before he realized that a certain winter spirit was floating outside his window with a cheeky smile on his face. He hoped of his bed to open the window and slid it up.

"Jack!" he exclaimed happily. Jack laughed cheerily. Jamie's delight at seeing him was something Jack would never tire of. "I was wondering when you I'd see you again!"

"Its good to see you to kiddo! I'm sorry it's been so long" he smiled apologetically. "Did you enjoy the snow day the other day?" Jamie's face lit up at the memory. "It was great! We haven't a snow fight like that in a while! And Sophie had so much fun making snowmans. Not to mention being of school for the day was great as well" Jack laughed, glad to hear that Jamie and Sophie had enjoyed it.

"Your welcome" he said playfully.

A few houses down, a seventeen year old girl peered out her window, her eyes glued on the floating white haired figure several houses down. She had seen him fly past only a minute ago. He was talking to someone, but she couldn't see who. Either way, there was no mistaking who the ethereal figure was. She had seen him once five years ago, a few days before she moved out of Burgess. But even when she moved back over a week ago, she hadn't expected to see him again. She had always hoped that she would, and now he was just a few yards away. She didn't care about the consequences, she couldn't let this opportunity slip by. She had to meet him no matter what.  
She slipped a puffy, warm dark purple jacket over her long-sleeved black top and slipped on her pair of loosely tied sneakers. She dashed downstairs past her mother, who just turned around and stared at her like she was crazy.

"Jill! What do you think your doing?" she scolded.

"I'm just going outside for a moment! I wont be ten minutes, I promise!" she said taking her light blue scarf from the coat rack right beside the front door. She wrapped it around herself and pulled a simple green beanie over her head. "Be back soon!" she said opening the door and closing it behind her. She ran, which she knew she shouldn't do, but she couldn't help herself, and within moments she was standing outside the fenced of the yard that the floating figure was hovering above. But the fence kept her from stepping any closer, and it would be trespassing, not mention rude, just to walk onto someone elses property on a whim. Instead, she scooped some snow in her hand, ignoring the nipping cold, patted it into a snowball and backed up a little to get a clear view.

Jack and Jamie, who were so caught up in talking to one another, failed to notice her until something cold hit Jack in the back. He and Jamie turned around in surprise to see the teenage girl of seventeen with wavy pitch dark hair that reached just past her shoulder blades, rich earth brown eyes and fair pale skin like a porcelain doll that complimented her naturally red full lips, standing on the snowy ground on the other side of the fence. Her eyes twinkled with wonder as she stared up at them, in particular Jack. She scoped up some more snow, quickly shaping it into a snowball, throwing it up then catching it several times.

"Hey Jack, I think she wants to play" Jamie said looking at him playfully. But Jack was to busy staring at her in surprise. She could see him, and being seen was something he would never get tired of. Jack smiled. "You know what Jamie" he formed a snow ball in his hand and handed it to his young friend "I think you right. He formed another one for himself and didn't hesitate to throw it at the odd girl who appeared out of no where.

She just barley managed to dodge it as it whizzed past her head. She looked back at where it landed for a moment and smiled before another snowball hit her in the shoulder and she toppled backwards.

"Nice shot Jamie" Jack cheered. The girl sat up and laughed.

"Good arm!" she called a little to loudly.

"Shh!" Jack and Jamie hissed in unison, afraid that Mrs Bennett would hear her. "Wait there, we'll come down" Jamie said. The girl nodded, and Jamie slipped on a pair of gloves he grabbed from his dresser, before climbing to the other side of windowsill. The girl watched nervously, as Jamie proceeded to climb onto the drainpipe to his left and climb down it.

"Don't worry. I'll catch him if he falls" Jack assured her with a playful smile. He flew over the fence and landed in front of her surprising her a little, as Jamie climbed down the last of the pipe.

"I'm not sure throwing a snowball is the best way to greet someone but its definitely unique. I'll give you points for that" He had a such a cheeky grin that she couldn't help but laugh.

"My names Jack Frost, but something tells me you already know that" he queried. She nodded, as Jamie opened the gate behind them and joined them.

"My names Jill Caron. It's nice to meet you both"

"Jamie Bennett" Jamie chirped cheerily. "You just moved in down the road didn't you? About a week ago?" She nodded almost shyly.

"Uh-huh. Um, I'm sorry about the snow ball and everything"

"Jamie! Where are you?" called a young girls voice from inside the house.

"Sophie" Jamie muttered looking from his open window back to Jack and Jill. "I gotta run. It was nice meeting you Jill Caron" he said backing away before turning, heading to the drain pipe and scaling it awkwardly. It was a funny sight that Jack and Jill found amusing.

"You can see me" That was the first thing that came out of Jack's mouth as Jamie finished climbing back into his room. "How-why? I mean, why did you start believing in me?" Jill looked down the street, and pointed towards the rooftop of the house opposite hers "That's where I first saw you, five years ago when I was twelve" she told him calmly recalling the memory. "I heard one of the other kids outside talking excitedly about how he meet Jack Frost and how amazing he was and how he couldn't wait to see him again" Jack knew somehow, that it was Jamie she was talking about " I listened intently and thought how nice it would be to meet such a person. Later that night, I couldn't sleep. So I got out of bed and ended up staring out the window. I looked over the rooftops and that's when I saw you. You were having fun freezing the rooftops, sending some snow tumbling down chimneys, frosting windows. It all looked so fun...and magical. I watched you for as long as you were in sight as you flew and sprinted and darted about" she recalled happily. "And before I knew it, you had flown out of sight and I never saw you since" Her cheeks sudddenly lturned a light shade of pink. "Sorry, some of that probably sounded a little weird" she said sheepishly. Jack merely chuckled leaning back on air.

"So, if you can see me, does that mean you can see the others?" he asked. She looked up at him confused.

"The others?" Her response surprised Jack a little.

"You know, Santa Claus, Sandman, The Easter Bunny, The tooth-fairy" Jill stared at him with excited eyes and a wide happy smile.

"You mean their real!?" she blurted out. Now that definitely took Jack by surprise.

"Yea but, are you really telling me you didn't believe in them?""

"Well, I was never a hundred percent sure if they were real, but I've always thought 'maybe'" she admitted sheepishly, looking away. "They'd probably be insulted if they knew huh?" Jack found that all he could do was stare at her. The thought that someone believed in him and not the other guardians was just way to weird!  
Jack was contemplating whether to push further, but instead smiled as he felt the presence of a guardian nearby. "Right on time" he muttered. He hovered a little of the ground and extended his hand to her, a warm, playful smile on his face. "Well, nows a great time to show you what another guardian can do. Take my hand. I wanna show you something" She stared at it skeptically. "Come on, you can trust me" Truth was, it wasn't him that he didn't trust, but her body and cold, but she wouldn't tell him that. She took his hand reluctantly and she unnoticeably shivered at his cold touch, as he gently pulled her to his side and, much to her surprise, he casually wrapped one arm around her waist while still holding onto her hand with other. He started to float higher ever so slightly.

"Watch yourself"

"Hey wait a second! What-"  
She closed in her eyes in fright for a moment, and clung tightly to the side of his hood as he elevated higher with a bit more speed. But after a moment, she realized she wasn't falling, and instead dared to open her eyes. What she saw was a little more breathtaking than she imagined. Her feet dangled in the air, the shimmering white ice cold ground several meters below, the wind playing gently around her. Jill felt oddly secure with Jacks arm around her waist, and allowed the wonder of being suspended in air to fill her as she let an exhilarated laugh. Seeing that she was ok, and not screaming to be put back down, Jack moved gently upwards more towards the rooftop. As he gradually got higher, Jill seemed to cling ever so slightly tighter to his side. They lightly touched the tiles of Jamies rooftop, before ever so lightly springing from his rooftop to the next one. They sprung gently again from that rooftop to the next, and finally towards Jills roof. As their feet lightly touched down on the icey cold rooftiles, Jill found her breath hitch as she finally lifted her gaze to the horizon. She had gazed up at many bright full moons, but never before had it seemed so big, so magical, and so entrancing as its silver moonbeams cast a gentle light on what ever it hit. Jack couldn't help but smile at how awed she was. Their was no masking how breath taking she found such a simple view from her rooftop.

"If you like that, your gonna love what's next" Jack said sweetly by her ear, bringing her out of her reverie. He gently led her back upwards towards the top of the center of the roof, never letting her go of her hand in case she should slip. "Close your eyes for a moment, and reach your hand up" he said. She did as he said, closing her eyes and stretching up her thin arm and hand nervously. She had been so swept up in it all that she didn't even care how stupid she may have looked reaching for nothing. But then she felt something brush and tickle her fingers. Something indescribably light, soft, warm and gentle. Suddenly is wasn't just one either, but dozens, all tickling her hand and wrist. Her eyes flew open, and she stared in wonder as a trail of countless tiny golden lights, as small as grains of sand, surrounded her hand and moved lightly and beautifully through the night sky.

"What is this?" she asked in wonder. "Its so warm and gentle"

"I'm not surprised" Jack said smiling "It's Sandman's dream sand. Each stream or trail carries a dream which Sandy can transport to any child on the globe"

Jill looked back out over the rooftops, and watched as the golden trails gently, quietly and serenely wove through the night sky. To Jill, it almost seemed like an ocean of gold.

"Hold tight" he said. Before Jill had a chance to respond, Jack held her around her thin waist and lifted her up like she was no lighter than a feather. Her eyes widened in wonder as she was immersed and completely surrounded by the golden sand trail from her head to just above her waist, and the tiny sands warmed her all over with their soothing light. Without knowing why, she closed her eyes, and suddenly dozens of images flooded her head. Images of all sorts of things such as magical kingdoms, enchanting creatures such as fairies or friendly dragons flooded her head, and Jill couldn't help but fell a strong sense of nostalgia. Unwillingly, a single tear flowed down her cheek. She briskly wiped it away, only to shed another tear a moment later.

Jack brought her down, and was surprised, yet concerned when he saw that she was wiping her face. He let go of her waist and proceeded to try move one of her hands away from her face, but she merely turned away from him. She was crying? Did he do something wrong?

"Is something wrong?" he asked, not sure what else to do. She shook her head.

"No no, nothing is wrong" she said wiping the last of her tears. "I just, remember when I used to have dreams like those. They were such silly childish dreams" Jack placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him again. "If Sandman was here and could talk, I'm sure he would tell you that there is no such thing as a silly dream, especially not a child's"  
Jill let out and unexpected weak chuckle.

"Sandman can't talk?" she asked with a smile. Jack was taken aback for a moment at the question, before he chuckled himself.

"It's not that he can't, it's that he chooses not to so he doesn't wake any kids" He looked around, and brought his hand to the side of his mouth as if to whisper. "And for someone who doesn't talk, he has a surprising amount to say"

Jill laughed lightly, a sound Jack always enjoyed, especially a child's laughter. But he frowned as her laughter quickly turned into coughing.

"Hey, are you ok?" he asked urgently as it turned into a coughing fit. It continued, and Jack wasn't quite sure what to do. Its was a deep chest rattling cough with Jill catching breath whenever she found a space to between her coughing. He approached her but she held up her hand to stop him, indicating just that she just needed space. She crouched on the rooftop and after a minute or two, it seemed to calm down, but Jill almost looked a few years older. The coughing had definitely worn her out. Jack approached her and helped her to her feet, although her legs were shaking.

"Are you ok now?"

"Y-yea, I've just been out in the cold for to long"

"Guess I went a bit far" he admitted sheepishly. Before Jill could protest, he scooped her up in his arms and floated gently back down to the front of her door.

"Thank you Jack" she said calmly, surprising him as her feet touched the cold snowy earth once again. She averted her gaze, a little embarrassed "I never imagined that I would ever see such a rare and magical sight in all my life, but thanks to you I did. All never forget it" She gazed down at the ground a little crestfallen. "I wish I could repay you somehow, but I don't know what someone like me could ever do for a spirit" Jack crouched and balanced perfectly on the top of his staff.

"If it bothers you that much, I can think of something" Jill looked up at him surprised.

"The boy you meet earlier, Jamie Bennett, he's a very special kid you know. Its because of him that more children are believing in me. So, how about you look out for him when I'm not around? Be his friend." Jill blinked surprised at such a simple yet kind request. "Jamie's belief in the guardians has always been stronger than others, but since him and his friends have stared growing up, they've stopped believing. But because Jamie still believes, he's become a bit, ostracized in a way. So there's not a lot of people he can call his friends. But if he has another friend that believes with him, I think that it would make him feel a lot better. So...does that, sound like a fair deal?" he queried with a playful smile. Jill nodded

"I think I can manage that much" she said smiling happily. It was the least she could do. Jill coughed once more as the wind blew, and Jack knew it was about time he said goodbye.

"You better get inside and get warm. I'll come again some time Jill. It was nice meeting you" He said smiling, lifting himself up of the earth again. Jill reached up grabbed his ankle before he flew out of reach.

"You promise right?" she asked anxiously, letting go of his ankle. "You'll definitely come visit again?"

"Of course!" Jack said confidently. "Jamie's here after all. I'll see you around" With that, Jack flew up higher, as Jill went to open her front door. Both paused to look back at each other, and Jill waved up at him, whilst Jack let out a playful yell before he somersaulted in the air before flying of. Jill couldn't help but chuckle as she opened the door to go inside and face her mothers wrath, and brace her self for her fathers later, although he was actually a lot more easy going than her mother. Still, nothing was going to dampen Jill's mood. Not after such a magical evening. And what was even better, was knowing that one day Jack would return, and Jill was determined to still be there when he did. Yes, she at least wanted to meet him one more time.


End file.
